This invention relates generally to an automatic filing system and, more particularly, to a system for automatically storing, accessing and retrieving graphic data.
The rapid growth of government and industry has been accompanied by the necessarily burdensome task of processing, filing and retrieving an ever-increasing volume of printed, written and pictorial documents. The full impact of this burden is more clearly understood when one considers the number of documents necessary to maintain personnel records, tax data, invoices, credit card receipts, charge account purchase receipts, etc. In order to meet this ever-increasing challenge, industry and government have been forced to maintain large clerical staffs, whose task it is to process, file and retrieve "paper." Since the processing, filing and retrieving is, for the most part, accomplished manually, there invariably results situations in which important documents are lost or misfiled. In addition to the cost of maintaining such large clerical staffs, there is also to be considered the additional expense of maintaining large numbers of file cabinets which occupy a great deal of valuable space. Clearly, the key to increased efficiency in clerical productivity lies in the use of a fully automated graphic data storage and retrieval system.
Past attempts to provide such a system have been meager. The practice of recording graphic data on microfilm, for example, is well known. Further, many devices for displaying information recorded on microfilm have been provided. However, when using many of these devices, it is necessary to first select the particular reel of film on which the desired document is recorded, thread the reel of microfilm in a projector or reading machine and transport all of the unwanted film past the projector until the desired portion of the film is reached. Clearly, this approach is still, for the most part, a manual solution to the problem.
The microfilm is generally optically projected by pulling the film strip off the reel or out of a cassette cartridge which houses the reel, leading the film to a projection station and projecting a portion or frame of the film after it has left the cassette. After the chosen frame is located and projected by withdrawing the film from the cassette, the film is rewound into the cassette. The handling of the film may clearly impart smudges and scratches to the film and permits the deposition of dust and dirt particles thereon.
As alluded to previously, the acts of selecting the proper cassette, mounting it in a projector, unspooling it to the proper frame, projecting that frame, rewinding the film back into the cassette and removing the cassette to its normal storage position, are all acts which are time-consuming and vastly increase the cost of retrieving information.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,456,817 and 3,804,498, issued July 29, 1969 and Apr. 16, 1974 respectively, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, make possible a system having the capability of automatically storing, accessing and retrieving an almost unlimited amount of graphical data (millions of written, printed or pictorial pages). The first of the above cited patents relates to a random access storage and retrieval system. The system comprises a plurality of circular supports, each adapted to carry a multiplicity of microfilm cassettes arranged sequentially around the periphery of the supports. A retrieval path is defined by an opening or gap in each of the separate supports, which gaps are normally positioned in alignment to define a retrieval path. After a particular microfilm cassette has been selected, the corresponding support is moved until the preselected cassette is positioned in the retrieval path. A transport device then carries the selected cassette to a position of access.
The second of the above cited patents relates to a cassette for microfilm particularly adapted for use in the above described random access storage and retrieval system. The microfilm is located in a portion of the cassette housing which is highly resistant to penetration by dust and dirt. The housing is provided with unspooling means which does not require handling of the cassette or the film. The film is projected while it is still located within the housing, insuring minimal stress on the film at the point of projection and accurate positioning of the desired image frame for projection.